Heroic
by Kabaneri
Summary: In a world where peace one reigned, chaos rises up. The heroes are losing, villains grow strong. What is to come, nobody yet knows. I will post chapters here and there. Heroic AU! White Hat, Dr. Slug, Clemencia and 606. Short snippets and chapters. May turn into a full story instead of scattered bits, at least that's the plan. Story-based chapters after ch.7!
1. Code: GXXXXXX

"Kzzzt! Mayday! Khhhhk! We're... attack! Mayday!"

"Here's base 773. Please identify yourself."

"Here's... Kzzzt! ...Malestorm 29Z. We're under attack! Jets... One engine down!... Help! Eclipse...danger!"

"Code Red! All personnel get ready! Malestorm 29Z has been attacked!"

"All to the stations!"

"Prepare for launch!"

"They mentioned Eclipse! Call agent Laurence!"

The whole emergency center was in chaos. Mission TAMALES has been compromised. Malestorm was under attack by unknown assailants and Eclipse was in danger. The one spy they had managed to catch had committed suicide.

"What are we going to do? Agent Laurence! If Eclipse gets in the wrong hands"

"Hey, newbie."

"Yes?"

"Don't panic. This is the worst you can do right now, not to mention the heroes have been called."

"No way! Does that mean-?"

"Yes. **HE** is coming."


	2. Thoughts

What is "right"? I Don't know anymore. My world is darkness. My things are gone.

I lose them all. Pain always follows me. My walls of glass are gray. My eyes can not see colors anymore.

Empty room. Picture with no meaning. Echoes of times LONG gone.

He watches me with anger. He looks at me in disgust. Pain always followed by the smell of a cigarette.

A gloomy song of broken tunes, no smile has grazed this canvas in years. The scars, they remain.

I am waiting for a Prince to save me or... **_the sweet release of death. _**

The walls were broken in a flash. The music of the world came back. Colors bled in my being again. A smile, gone for SO LONG, finally crept on my face. A shy but honest smile.

Pain Will no longer bother me. My world in no longer dark. **HE** gave me hope, gave me strenght, now I'm going to give it back! For this is better than living in a cage.

"He deserves it more than anyone..."


	3. I am-

28th March 2002

The streets are like they were every single day since I was born. Rain poured from the cloudy sky as the night lights shone. I, on the other hand had to watch yet again. The bitterness, the ENVY! And they... those bastards just smile and laugh from behind their rose-colored glasses!

Weak! Pathetic! One of the many pebbles on this road called_ life_.

No one knows. No. One. Understands! All they care is about **HIM**! What** HE** says and does is law! And we... Those bastards can't possibly understands!

I Will show them! I Will show them all! I won't falter! I Will not give up! Not untill I show the world Who I really am! No one would ever laugh at me then I stand above them all.

I AM VILLAIN!


	4. File 47

Many disappearances are being reported in New Metropolita city. People disappearing suddenly, as if evaporated in thin air. Possible villain attack on the capital? An act of terrorism against the Justice Congress?

**Bombings at the National museum of history! Exclusive!**

Late last night several explosions went off inside the walls of the National museum. Many artifacts and precious objects were destroyed and investigators are still looking through the debris to sort out what objects are still in reparable conditions, how many are destroyed and what evidence the criminals may have left. On an even sadder note, two out of the 4 night guards died on the way to the hospital. One is in a critical condition and one is missing. The current amount of...

...A dangerous villain by the name of Frederick Bisco aka Trasher is on the loose! After being detained by the heroes Fierra and Dice the villain unexplainably managed to escape the armored car he was transported in.

"There was suddenly a loud BANG and he's running down the street!" -said the driver Miguel Jameson.

The villain is still loose and extremely dangerous! We advice all citizens to run away and inform the authorities if he's spotted.

Further evidence suggests Bisco escaped on his own by busting a hole through the armored wall of the vehicle. How be did it is currently unknown.

Connection?

💎(•ิ_•ิ)?

A strange fragment was found in the museum. Still being restored...


	5. White

It was the day when everything changed…

We were raiding [Redacted]'s base. At first, it looked like a seemingly normal apartment building. Oh, how wrong we were…

The building and the yard around it were full of hidden traps- lasers, mines, killer drones, spikes, guns, electrified wires that could fry a person on the spot and not to mention other villains.

It was looking bleak. We were running out of time. For a moment, I thought [Redacted] will succeed with his plan but then **HE** came. It was like a ray of hope personified had come to aid us.

With a confident smile and no hesitation, he charged forward, us following. While we were holding back the villains and dispatching traps, he went inside, alone. Just before **HE** did, I saw** HIS** face. Behind the smile, there was hidden fear. **HE** was afraid but for us and every other person in this country, ont this planet.

I don't know what happened. We were just on the 4th floor then _it_ happened. There was a flash and everything turned _WHITE_. It lasted only a few seconds but it was scary. Then, the building shook and started to collapse. We ran out. Some out of the windows, others down the stairs, avoiding debris due to lacking super powers.

When we were out, I was glad almost all of my colleagues were alive. But… **HE** was not there. The building collapsed and he still hadn't gotten out. No last-second escape, no dramatic rescue…NOTHING! The realization hit me so HARD I started to cry. We may have succeeded with our mission but at a great price.

The world changed the next day, but not for the better.


	6. Purpose

Nothing special... I was called that. Always...

"Useless! You think because mommy and daddy have the big cash, you are better?! Fat chance. Loser. Pussy! You are nothing! Next time I see you, you are dead!" - these were some of the things that were said to me.

Average student, average grades, average university, average... I was the definition of the word.

What is the point? I don't want to take the company, I'm not interested in it. My siblings are more suited for it either way. Am I going to work an average job, live an average life, be average until the end? What's the point in such life?

I was scared. A villain had attacked. Metropolita has a lot less crime compared to other places but they still happen. I was caught in the middle! As the villain was about to shoot a little kid, I just... MOVED. I just remember tackling him, a sharp pain in my left shoulder and me wrenching the gun out of his hands, whacking him in the head. Then... darkness. I woke up in hospital. I don't know what made me do such a thing, an average guy like me, but now I feel different. Like "Eureka! This is it!". I think, I found it- the thing I want to do...


	7. It is starting

**(I am just using this image)**

images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=XZW4V0ul&id=636A0BD85ED2DC6C964E7A1DC0D385E906FD74A0&thid= 4V0ulEW2kW7W7wtiwiwHaFj&mediaurl=http%3a%2f% %2fimages% &exph=974&expw=1300&q=white+top+hat&simid=608025668698377266&selectedIndex=96&ajaxhist=0

Soon…


	8. Introduction

The TV screen flashed static and a peculiar logo with a top hat appeared. It switched to a room with large windows that was mostly white and blue with bits of brown and yellow here and there. Behind a desk sat a person. He wore a white suit with blue tie, gray undershirt and a large, white top hat. His skin was light gray, had a monocle, no visible nose or ears. He was smiling, his teeth were a bit too sharp to be human and he was looking nervous.

"Hello! Fellow heroes and dear civilians! Let me introduce myself! I am White Hat." He stood up from behind the desk and fixed his white suit "I am really thankful that you are giving me a bit of your precious time."

He started walking to the right, towards a small pedestal with a round device on it.

"Do you have problems with villains or just want you and those dear to you to be safe without hurting anybody? I have the perfect thing for you!" he lifted the device from its place "Dr. Slug! Can you please come here and introduce your device to the viewers?"

With a lot of grumbling, a lanky guy dressed in black pants, dark blue shirt, black lab coat and red gloves. He wore a paper bag on his head and goggles.

"Come on, smile a bit for the camera." – White Hat tried to cheer him up, unsuccessfully.

"Let's get this over with!" he almost shouted "So, this device _you_ made me make is a sleeping device. It can put everyone to sleep almost instantly."

"I see…" White Hat pressed the red button "Now, where do I point it? Or do I throw it?"

"You fool!" Slug screeched "It's a sleeping device! When you press the button, everybody in radius will-"

The device sent out an energy wave and both crumbled to the ground.

….

The doors creaked and a girl in pink hoodie, sky blue leggings, glitter-covered sneakers and unicorn hat came in. Her skin was fair, her hair was a mix of pastel blue and cotton candy pink, also her two eyes were different colors- one green, the other yellow.

"Whoa!" she took a big slurp of a slushie and ran to the doctor "He knocked himself out! Hahaha!" – she giggled.

She then went to the camera and almost smooshed her face in it.

"Is this thing still on?" she flipped it and spun it around a bit "I just can't figure these big, expensive cameras. Aha! It must still be on!"

She set the camera down and moved it so it filmed Slug. She took out a red marker and started drawing an ugly female face with thick lips on his bag. She took a few pictures of White Hat and made funny faces at Slug until he stirred. She booked it out of the room after that.

…

"CLEMEMCIAAAAAAA!" – Slug's shout echoed through the whole manor.

He was mad and was determined to catch the girl that dared to make fun of him on TV!

"Haha! Young people sure have a lot of energy!" – White Hat sat in the living room as he sipped tea, the perfect image of a gentleman.

"Grrr…" – 606 grumbled as he took a broom with him.

(See Heroic AU for how the characters would look.)


	9. 606

=== 2 years ago ===

It was a nice and sunny morning on Hat island. Everything was peaceful… as peaceful as it could get with people like Clemencia and White Hat in his quirky moods. Dr. Slug drank his black coffee and looked at the clean, cheerful and sparkly front yard in distaste. This was NOT his style! It was too clean, bright and happy!

He sometimes wishes he was back in his old lad in Brackwater city instead of the one in White Hat mannor. Yes, the equipment here was much better and he got a decent funding for his own experiments – 10% of all profit was not bad deal. What he missed were the personal touches he'd done to his old lab. The orderly chaos, the smell of coffee, brewed through the many nights he didn't sleep, the old chair he slept on… scratch that! He was not ruining his back for the sake of nostalgia.

"DR. SLUUUG!" – White Hat burst through the door.

Slug put on his paper bag as quickly as he could. He screamed as hot coffee spilled on his jeans.

"Are you OK? Do you need cold water? Here! A new pair of pants!" – White Hat handed him a pair as he hovered nervously.

Slug hated the man… demon… creature… WHATEVER!

"I am fine." he growled "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

White Hat listened for once and got out. After a while, Slug was out, his burn treated and new pants put on.

"So… why did you barge in my room for?" – he glared at the taller man.

"Well… I and Clemencia were watching a movie last night and I got a great idea for a possible new product that'll promote peace and happiness!" – White Hat smiled from ear to ear, literally.

Slug was sometimes scared by looking at what the man's body was capable of. The sharp teeth and the light blue shirt contrasted with each other. Despite all the cheerfulness of his boss, Slug still felt intimidated.

"Yes…?"

"I would like you to help create real-life Care bears! It will be amazing achievement!"

Dr. Slug just stared at the man as if he'd grown a second head.

…

Dr. Slug and White Hat were standing in front of the machine, Clemencia had been sent out of the lab after the 3rd accident.

"This is it, right?" – White Hat was giddy.

"Yeah, if my calculations were correct."

Dr. Slug pressed a few buttons and started the machine. The contraption hissed, rattled… and suddenly stopped. For a moment, it was as if they failed but then the container opened.

A big, cartoonish, purple bear with a sour expression and a wilting flower came out.

"Hello there-" – White Hat approached when the bear jumped on him and started chewing his head.

"Looks like it's a failure…" – Dr. Slug started pulling out his ray gun.

"NO! Don't do it!"

"But it's trying to eat you alive, sir. It must be disposed of."

White Hat opened the bear's jaws open with ease, all damage done to his face knitting itself in front of their eyes.

"Grou…" – the bear tried to retreat but White Hat held him tight.

"He's perfect! Look how cuddly he is! I bet you were scared, that's why you nibbled good ol' me, right?" – he hugged the obviously uncomfortable bear.

"So, what do we do with the beast instead?" – Slug put back his gun.

"Hm? We keep him of course! Project 'Care bear' might have been a flop but I see no reason to deny any creature's existence just because. He can be our mascot or something similar!" – White hat twirled the bear in the air.

"Ugh… FINE! But I am NOT cleaning after it!" – Slug gave up.

…

That is how 606 came to be and became part of White Hat corp.


	10. The Ad

The White Hat logo flashed on the screen and Clemencia appeared on the screen in a cloud of glitter.

"HEEEEEEELOOOOOOOO WORLD! It's me, yours truly Clemencia!" she took out a party whistle and blew it "I am with you today to advertise the solution to your problems! Is that right, boss?"

A sock puppet of White Hat popped in front of the screen.

"_Of course! My trusted and dearest assistant! You look great today._"

"Oh, you flatter me too much!" she blushed and put away the puppet "Does your day seem gloomy?"

606 passed by the door and grumbled as she included him in the video.

"Do you desperately need a smile? Something to lighten the mood or help you with your work? I present to you… MYSELF!" – she pointed with her thumb.

She spun and made several poses in front of the camera.

"Clemencia! She can clean, do the laundry, wash the dishes and many more household chores!" *pictures of her in an apron doing the stuff*

"She can also walk the dog, watch the kids and tend to your garden!" *a short video of her feeding a giant carnivorous plant with bunny ears some chicken*

Just then Dr. Slug and White Hat passed by the door.

"What the hell is she-MMMH!"

White hat quickly restrained Slug and put a hand on his mouth.

"Shh… Let her shine for a bit! It would be rude to interrupt her." – White Hat spoke gently, looking at the girl fondly.

"MOREOVER!" she continued with even more guts "We offer special services for Heroes! If you are troubled by a persistent Villain but are just too busy saving the day, Clemencia can help you!" *Clemencia saluting while wearing a soldier's helmet on top of her unicorn cap*

"As fast as a cheetah!" *Clemencia chasing a speeding ice-cream druck*

"As silent as a wolf!" *Clemencia sneaking behind a fly and catching it with her bare hands*

"A super-agent able to accomplish many tasks!" *BOOOOOM!, Clemencia sits up from the crater "I'm OKAY!" *

"Hiyah!" she made a Kung Fu pose "I will beat ya! Hiyah!"

The tablet in Slug's arms beeped. He struggled out of White Hat's grasp and looked at it.

"Impossible! How could so many orders come in for that pink thing?!" – he watched shocked at the number of people wanting Clemencia's services.

"You did great!" – White Hat gave her thumbs up.

"Call us!" – she winked at the camera.

The transmission ended.

…..

"Hmm… Interesting." a male voice drawled "Quite intriguing…"

His voice was low and deep, a bit scratchy. The room he was in has dark, not only were the curtains closed but the room was full of dark colored, mostly blacks, grays and reds. A printer came to life and printed a picture of White Hat. The man's gloved right hand picked it up and pinned it on a cork board. There were other pictures, documents, newspaper clippings and even a piece of white cloth.

"Soon… we will meet again, old _**friend**_…"


	11. Love bug

"Hello and good day to you!" White Hat bowed "I am White Hat and am here to show you one of our newest products! I present to you…" he pulled a cloth from a glass container "The Love Bug!"

Inside a small glass jar was a pink bug that was light pink color and had heart-shaped spots on it.

"You no longer need to be violent! We offer a peaceful way to solve conflicts! With the Love Bug, which is attracted to strong negative emotions, every conflict cam be solved without violence! A hostage situation, a villain attack, a robbery, a street fight- release a few Love Bugs! They release calming waves that reduce violence, calm tempers and cause people to feel happiness! It is a sure way to prevent a dangerous situation before it even started!"

"Yay!" Clemencia cheered "Gimmie!"

"No, Clemencia, dear. It will not work with you. We would need someone more… gloomy." – White Hat said thoughtfully.

"No worries! I've got it!"

She ran out of the room so fast White Hat blinked several times before comprehending what happened.

"WHAT?! Get OFF me! Let me go you menace stinking of roses!"

Clemencia came in with a trashing Dr. Slug under her arm. She dropped the man in front of White Hat.

"Here's a grumpy!" *jazz hands*

"What do _**you**_ want now? I was in the middle of an important project and-"

Halfway into his rant, the bug had started to try and get to Slug, hitting the glass, so White Hat let it go. It immediately flew and latched on Dr. Slug's lab coat.

"What the heck is this… thing…"

The bug chirped and started fluttering its wings. Slug relaxed almost immediately.

"As you can see, the bug is very effective and also cute!" – White Hat gestured.

Suddenly Slug twitched and flailed.

"Gah!" he grabbed and threw the bug on the floor "DIEEEEE!"

Dr. Slug grabbed a nearby chair and swung it down. With a THWACK, the chair hit White Hat's back.

"That's not nice, Dr. Slug. You almost hurt Candy!" – he cradled the Love bug now with a bent wing.

"Like I care! That thing _almost_ made me be good! I AM AN EVIL SCIENTIST!"

"Now, now, doctor. There's no need to be hysterical. Calm down."

"I AM CALM!" Slug screeched "I am going to my lad and don't bother me!"

"Aww! Poor thing." – Clemencia cradled the hurt creature.

"Sigh…" – White Hat massage his temples, taking off his monocle first.

"Should we worry about him?" Clemencia was concerned "He looked ready to murder somebody."

"No, he won't hurt anybody. He signed a contract and would also loose his 10% from all sales, so he won't do anything more than break a few plates."

"Oh, good! If you say so, I believe you!" she smiled at White Hat "Come now Candy, let's heal you." – She cooed.

"Well, that was for today folks. Thanks for your time and have a nice day!"

The transmission ended.

Dr. Slug walked into his lab and shuddered at the memory of the pink bug. It made him want to be out and…ugh…be _**nice**_ to people! He entered the code into a safe in the wall and pulled out a small glass dish with a writhing substance inside it. He put it under a microscope and pressed the record button on a nearby recorder.

"Starting experiment 23. Studying the molecular structure of subject WH, sample 3."


	12. Breakfast

It was morning on Hat island. The birds were singing, flowers and grass were covered by a layer of sparkling drops of water. A perfect and peaceful picture…

"UGH! Disgusting. What a terrible morning…" – Dr. Slug grumbled as he waited for the coffee machine to be ready with his morning caffeine shot.

He glared out of the kitchen window at the front lawn and the idyllic neighborhood. After a few minutes he held a steaming mug, black coffee, no sugar or cream. He lifted the bottom part of his paper bag, taking a sip of the bitter drink. Slug but two slices of bread in the toaster, got a few slices of bacon out of the fridge along with some cream cheese for his breakfast. While he waited, the doctor decided to do something more than glare at the painfully slow energy-saving toaster and turned on the TV.

[…day at channel 8! Last night there was a robbery of Roseman bank in Virginia. A group of 12 masked men, all armed to the teeth stormed the bank during the late night shift. The criminals barreled in with a modified armored car and quickly took down the guards. The men had not only normal guns but LASERS and other such fancy gadgets. It is suggested they may be part of a bigger crime syndicate or are supplied by a villain/mad genius. They got away with all the valuables and money in the bank, the amount being over 1 billion! After that they got onto their car and sped off. The police chased them but they got away, unfortunately. One of the night guards in the bank was gravely injured and is now stru-]

"Ah… Now this is the life. Causing chaos, panic, showing those pesky policemen who's the boss. I miss my old business…" – Slug muttered as he assembled his breakfast.

He munched on the toast with cream cheese and bacon, thinking about his old lab, making weapons, machines of pure evil and mad genius, selling them for a lot of money and living however he wanted.

"Goooooooood mooooooornin'!" – Clemencia barged in, still in her long-sleeved neon yellow and pink PJs, a rare occasion where she still hadn't put her unicorn hat on.

"Grourl…" – 606 followed, looking half-dead and already miserable.

"Ugh…it's you." – Slug's mood became sour the moment he saw her.

"Good morning to you too!" Clemencia didn't show any indication she heard his nasty response "Man, I'm starving! Cereal time!"

She rummaged through the cupboards to look for a bow while 505 took out a bowl of fish from the fridge and fell face first into it, lightly snoring. Clemencia found the cereal, a spoon, bowl and the milk. She struggled to bring it all at once to the table but for Slug's disappointment, she did manage it and didn't trip.

"It's a beautiful mornin~" – she sung as she poured milk.

[Breaking news! We just received a report that the hero Volt-X fought with the villain Plastenoid in the middle of Rotari square. The battle was intense!] a few pictures of a man in white and yellow spandex suit and goggles fighting with someone that looked like a human-shaped pile of clay [Many shops and nearby buildings were damaged, the square will also need to be restored.] the camera slowly moved and showed all the damage caused [Volt-X was unfortunately knocked out when the Plastenoid used his clay-like body to choke the hero. Thankfully, a quick-thinking retired fireman used a garden hose to chase the villain away and into the sewer system, the authorities are still looking for him. Volt-X was brought to the hospital and will make a full recovery.] the man sighed and looked back up from his script [It's been happening more and more. Heroes are losing and the crime rates have risen… Ever since the death of Ga-]

The remote was quickly snatched from the table and Clemencia switched the channel to the morning cartoons instead of the news.

[Save me, Hero-man!] a pretty girl was kidnapped by a generic bad guy with a moustache [Stop right there, Dr. E' Vile! I will not allow you to harm princess Dainabeth!]

"CLEMENCIA! Why did you change the channel to this stupid kid's show?!" – Dr. Slug shouted, pointing a finger at her.

"Gruu?" -606 woke up and started to sleepily shove fish in his mouth.

"This is not stupid! The Amazing Adventures of Hero-man is one of the best shows of the year! Don't disrespect it!" – she pointed her spoon at him, spilling some mild on the table.

"Give me back the remote or turn the channel back!"

"Nope!"

Dr. Slug tried to get the remote but Clemencia was faster and nimbler than him, she ducked, stepped back, jumped over him and escaped every attempt of the scientist to get the remote. Finally, he collapsed while she was perched on top of the fridge, waving the remote in her hand.

"D… huff… damn you…"

"Sorry, Sluggy but I don't like gloomy stuff like this." She jumped down and walked back to her seat "White Hat is coming soon and I don't want the great morning to be ruined by reporters talking about bad stuff or the thing." – she said pensively, one hand ghosting over to her left thigh.

Slug was weirded out. He hadn't seen the girl look anything but annoyingly happy all the time.

The door opened and White Hat entered the kitchen, dressed in his pristine suit, just missing the coat and wearing bunny slippers. He was fixing his necktie when he entered.

"Good morning!" – he greeted and gave them a wide, pleasant smile, showing as little teeth as possible.

"MORNIN'!" – Clemencia waved enthusiastically, back to her usual self as if what Slug had seen a moment ago never existed.

"The weather is nice, isn't it?" – White Hat looked at him.

"No." – Slug grumbled and got off the floor.

"It's absolutely amazing! Let's go somewhere after breakfast. Maybe stroll around, have a picnic…" – Clemencia chattered.

"That sounds wonderful! Let's do it after we get ready and properly wake up. I don't think 606 will be able to follow us in this state." – White Hat pointed at the half-asleep bear that was trying to eat from an empty bowl.

"No, I'm not coming. I still have to work on my new project and-"

"Come on Sluggy! Don't be a prune!"

"Wha-?! Huh?! P-Prune?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

White Hat smiled at the antics of the two and how cute 505 looked, sipping hot chocolate from his mug.

{The preparations are all ready, sir. We are going to start transporting the new parts soon. We had a bit of trouble with the special agents but the 'pests' were dealt with.} – a man in a dark purple bodysuit, wearing a gas mask said through the screen.

"Excellent." The man in the shadows said "What about the microchip?"

{It is going to come in a day or two. That's what the Plastenoid said on the comm. He just needs to get out of the city and deliver it to us at the drop point.}

"Good, that idiotic clump of mud was useful for something after all."

{What should we do after we receive the chip?}

"Leave him alone, for now at least…" the man grinned manically "Who knows, he may have some more use later. Ah, but if he tries to change something or act smart in the last moment, you can use lethal force. Oh, if that happens leave at least a sample for the scientists to study."

{Yes, sir!}

The screen turned black and the man cackled in the dark room.


	13. A day out?

"Muahahahaha! It iss almost finished! Once mu petrification machine iss done… NO ONE would be able to sstop me! Not even that pessky hero Cherí! HYAHAHAHA!" – a tall and thin man with dark hair to his shoulders laughed.

He was wearing a black and yellow-striped suit with a monocle. He stood in fron of a control board.

"Gee! YOU sure are the best boss!" – a minion said.

"Yeah! You'll show THEM who is boss!" – another waid.

"You dunderheadss, shut UUUUP! You are ruining thiss moment!" – the villain screeched from his spot.

He straightened up, to look regal while he did his speech.

"BOSS! BOSS!?" another minion ran in the control room "It is here." – he presented the villain with a small chest.

"Finally!" he snatched the chest from his minion's hands "The Eye of the Gorgon iss finally here!"

He carefully opened the chest, revealing a faintly glowing green gem. It was carefully removed by the man's gloved hands, the chest thrown far away.

"Finally! My Zeppelin of doom iss complete! With thiss, NO ONE will be able to sstop me! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"WEEE!" "You're the best, boos! "Oh, boy! Can't wait!" "Let's celebrate!" – the minions around started to cheer.

"Once I inssert this in my machine, I'll be able to turn ANYONE into a sstone sstatue! No one would be able to sstand in my way! First, Tempolis, then, THE WORLD!"

*BOOOOM! Crash~!*

The sound reverberated thorough the whole zeppelin. Smoke filled the room.

"Then what about two?" – a female voice said, two menacing-looking figures in the smoke appeared.

"WHA-? Who're you?! How did you even get in?! This zeppelin is flying more than 600 meters in the air!" – the villain almost dropped the gem in his hand from the surprise.

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a girl with neon-colored clothes, unicorn hat and cotton candy-like hair. She held a bat with stickers on it in one hand. Beside her stood a man in a white suit with a top hat, cane and he didn't quite look right, his lack of visible nose and the too sharp teeth in his smile made the villain wary.

"I am the great and wonderful Clemencia! Guardian of all good and glitter! And this is my boss, the amazing White Hat!" – she did a proper introduction like in a TV show, jazz hands and all with a pinch of glitter.

"Clem, dear, this is not necessary at all. I am not that amazing or anything." – White Hat laughed a bit.

"NO! You are the bestest, the most amazing, kindest and bravest of all! You deserve this and a lot more!" – she protested, waving her hands and accidentally smacking a minion that was trying to sneak behind her on the head.

"What are you sstanding there? GET THEEEEEM!"

The minions took out different weapons. Some had knives, other lasers, some even had chains. They lunged at the two intruders.

Clemencia dodged their hits and swung her bat, making a squeaking noise every time it hit, sometimes she made faces at the minions or kicked them away. White Hat on the other hand just stood in one place as he was attacked, he didn't need to move from his spot! He swung his cane, using it as a weapon to deflect weapons and knock out minions.

"HEY! Bed-resin! Can't you see we had a conversation?!" – Clemencia shouted.

"The name iss DR. Bergauzze! You freak!"

White Hat noticed a minion was about to hit Clemencia and he was too far away to run to her in time, so he acted instinctively and swiped his had in the minion's direction. A wave of dark energy flew out and hit the minion, sending it crashing in a wall, slumping on the floor afterwards.

"Nice save White Hat!" – she gave him a thumbs up.

"Uh, yes…"

"Cursess!" the doctor took out a laser gun and started shooting at them but with his minions gone, there was no chance for him to win. Clemencia smacked him on the head and he was knocked out. White Hat gently lifted the fallen gemstone with one gloved hand and looked at it.

"Hmm…"

"What is it? Can I help with something?" – Clemencia asked him as she piloted the zeppelin towards a safe place to land.

"No. But this gemstone is too dangerous to be left unguarded and to be honest, after it has once been stolen from the vault, I am not that sure handing it to CIA is the best course of action…"

"Then why don't we take it and, dunno… hide it in a porcelain statue or something like that?"

"You… might be onto something here! I think we'll be able to take the gem with us to Hat island if I pull some strings." – White Hat mused.

=== A few hours later…===

606 was soundly sleeping in his coach while Dr. Slug was in his private lab room. He relished the peace and quiet while working on his newest project, only the bubbling of different chemicals and whirr of machines filling the room.

"Ah, how I wish they would never return."

He almost jumped in joy when Clemencia and White Hat announced they were going out that morning. He didn't give a shit where they went, just the fact that they were gone and he was left alone with his experiments.

"WE ARE HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMEEEEEEEE!" – Clemencia shouted the moment she entered the mansion.

"Speaking of the devil…" – Slug muttered darkly.

He tweaked a few more things before leaving his project alone, for now. He didn't want the neon hellion barging in and ruining all his hard work.

"Heya, Sluggy, 606! I missed you!" – Clemencia smothered the struggling bear with hugs.

"Hello, doctor. How was your day?" – White Hat smiled.

"Wonderful, until you got here."

"Ah, nice to see you've had a great day!"

"You paid attention to the wrong pa-"

Slug's eyes got wider than plated when he saw what White Hat put on the table. It was the Eye of the Gorgon! He rushed to the side and started examining it, pulling a magnifying glass and large tweezers from his coat.

"Wha-? How?! This is the real thing! There's no mistake about it!" Dr. Slug was getting excited at the mere thought of how many evil inventions he could make using its power "How did you get it?!" – he asked.

"From the market, duh! A snakey guy gave it to us for 3.99 bucks!" – Clemencia said, now sitting on 606's shoulders.

"Oh, really…" – Slug deadpanned, not expecting a serious answer from the girl.

"Now, now. Dr. Slug, I brought this here for safekeeping but I would like you to make something. A machine that uses this as a power source."

…..

'Shouldn't have gotten excited…'

Dr. Slug looked at the statue-making machine with a disappointed look under his bag. He had gotten excited at first, but it was natural that his current boss would want to do something _**nice**_ with a gem that had the powers to turn people into friggin' stone!

"Now, behold my invention! By placing the gem in this slot here" he put the stone inside the machine "and pressing a few buttons," the machine started working "you get a stone statue."

A statue of Slug standing on top of the world appeared, making the scientist satisfied.

"Good job, Dr. Slug but-" – White Hat began.

"It's too gloomy! Lemme do it!"

"NO! Clemencia! This is a delicate-"

"Gruah!"

She, 606 and Slug joined the fight for the controls for the machine. Statues were made and re-made again and again. The machine started smoking and red lights started flashing.

"Watch out!" – White Hat pushed them down behind a counter and shielded them with his body.

The machine exploded, the gem flew, hit the wall and shattered. Where the machine was stood a smoking, sparking wreck, the surroundings were damaged and charred, even the back of White Hat had been damaged a bit but he healed in seconds, the same could not be said about his shirt that had a hole in the back.

"Are you OK?" – he asked.

"Guurr…" – 606 nodded.

"YEP! Totally fine!"

"My machiiine!" Slug wailed "At leas- NOOOO! The geeeem!"

"No worries, Sluggy! We'll superglue it and it'll be brand new."

"YOU! This is all your fault!" – he lunged at her.

"ENO**UGH!" **– White Hat shouter, his voice taking a bit of a demonic tone towards the end.

Everyone froze and looked at the man.

"**You are going to have to learn to get along, so I am putting you on duty together!** Now, let's all make sure no one is hurt and start cleaning this up."

They all nodded and shuffled out of the damaged lab just as the sprinklers started running.

White Hat stood there, his clothes getting wet but he didn't care. He looked down at his slightly trembling hands. It couldn't be seen because of the gloves but he could feel that his fingers had morphed into claws. He clenched his fist, took a deep breath (_his body doesn't need it_) to center himself and walked out of the half-destroyed room. His look of discomfort returning to his usual pleasant smile.


	14. The Delivery

Currently, you could see Clemencia and Dr. Slug wearing aprons and latex gloves while cleaning the destroyed lab.

'Damn her! My beautiful lab… RUINED! It's all that little…' – Dr. Slug thought as he scrubbed a black stain from the floor.

"Nyeouwwww!" – Clemencia made this noise and made him turn around.

She was holding a broken desk lamp like it was a plane as she spun around and eventually let it go in the trash can. She then went to a pile of burned cables, checked to see if they were still connected to the electric board and started moving them around as if they were snakes. Slug was getting annoyed. At some point she even put brushes on her feet and started skating over some oil spots.

"Will you stop that?!"

"What?" – Clemencia asks as she throws a bent bolt into the trash like it is a ball.

"This! You are making noises and playing around! You should be cleaning!"

"Who says cleaning can't be fun? I do work just fine." – she stuck her tongue at him.

"Oh, hahaha, real mature. Fucking brat-"

"HEY! It's not my fault you can't have fun! You have been too sour recently, Sluggy."

"Stop calling me that stupid name, you glitter for brains!"

"Don't wanna!" – she blew him a raspberry.

"Why you little!" – he threw the sponge he was using at her head.

Clemencia ducked and it landed on the floor with a wet smack.

"Hey!" she shouted and Slug turned to look at her "Take your stuff back!"

She had picked up the sponge and hit him straight in the back with it.

"That's it!" – he threw the bucket of water at her but she rolled to the side and shot a latex glove at him.

A fight had started but not with food.

….

White Hat walked down the hallway with a pensive look. He had sent both Dr. Slug and Clemencia to clean the lad, choosing this as a form of punishment and not letting anybody else touch it or help. After drinking a cup of tea, he had felt a bit guilty, so he was now going to check on them.

'I hope they are getting along… If they had cleaned it to an extent, maybe I can let them go…?' – he mused.

Before realizing it, White Hat stood in front of the lab doors. He took a breath, entered the password and prepared to greet them-

SMACK!

A wet, dirty rag hit him straight in the face.

"Oh…" – Clemencia had an 'Oh, shit!' look on her face.

"Clemencia… Dr. Slug… A word with you, _**please**_." – White Hat said with an ominous smile.

They both gulped but followed him out of the lab.

===A few LONG hours of scolding later ===

Clemencia and Dr. Slug were out of the White Hat manor and heading into Bombe city, the only city on Hat island.

Dr. Slug dreaded the visit. With all the cleanness, happy carefree faces and the big, fat 0% crime rate… it was no place the doctor would willingly visit. Clemencia on the other hand was super happy do go there, even if it was part of her punishment. She loved the place, especially the park and sweets shop! Now, after the fiasco in the lab, White Hat had finally released them with a task – they had to deliver a package to an address and smooth thing out by the time they were back, otherwise, he'd leave them without dinner and make them sleep outside, plus no more personal experiments for Slug and no more pocket money and TV time for Clemencia.

"You have been to _this_ place before. Where's the damn address, so I can get back to my research as soon as possible?" – Slug growled.

"Stop being MR. Grumpy Pants! I also don't want to lose my TV time! Also…" she looked at the label on the package "I have NO idea!"

"WHAT?!"

"Hey~ Chill. I've never been to many places in the city but I am sure we'll find the place!" – she gave thumbs up.

The evil scientist groaned, dreading the trip and fearing for his personal, secret project.

They walked through the city, friendly faces greeting Clemencia and she returned the greeting with even more enthusiasm. She even stopped at an ice cream shop and was currently licking a triple scoop with an amount of chocolate and toppings that made Slug feel sick.

"So… How long until White Hat punishes us?" – his annoyance was dripping from his voice.

"I dunno? We just need to walk a few more blocks down, turn left from the fountain and go straight until we reach hotel Pita. The package is for the house across the street in front of the hotel." – she took a bite from the cone and chewed.

"Wha-Bu-HOW?!" – he sputtered.

"Oh, Mr. Casim, the guy that makes the best ice creams told me. I asked him when I was ordering." – she finished her cone and licked her fingers.

"Good, now let's go!" – Dr. Slug hurried forward.

"Hey! You don't need to hurry so much! Something might happen!"

"Yeah, right." – he didn't listen to her.

"So… Why are you so grumpy all the time?"

"…"

"Hey~ Sluggy? What is your favorite food? Mine is pie!"

"…"

"Then what is the best movie you've watched?"

"Why are you so annoying all the time?! I don't like this place and if I could, I wouldn't even be here! You are childish, immature, a pure menace, you spread glitter everywhere! Your socks also dyed my lab goat pink last week. PINK!" – Dr. Slug continued stomping forward.

"Aw, I said I was sorry. That was very dirty clothes day, so I threw my socks in without thinking. You shouldn't mix socks and underwear in the washing machine, yanno."

"NO! And I don't care! Why are you even bothering to try and butter up to me? Let me tell ya, it won't work."

"Because White Hat want us to get along! I will try for his sake, even though you are a meanie most of the time. White Hat is the best and I think he has a reason for us to get along!" – she pumped her fist up.

The scientist scoffed and continued forward, side-stepping because of a white and orange net.

"I honestly don't understand what you like so much about the guy. You speak as if he's some all-knowing, divine being. If you ask me…" Slug stopped and turned around to look at Clemencia's face "He's more like a d-"

*Creaaak~ SNAP!*

A crane had been lifting a steel beam up when the rope broke. It was going to fall on Dr. Slug but Clemencia saw the whole thing happening, so she jumped and pushed him away from the danger.

The sound of clanging and tearing, shouts from the construction workers…

Slug groaned and sat up. As he affixed his glasses again, he froze. The realization that he would have been a red splat on the pavement hit him like a train. Besides him laid Clemencia, curled on her left side.

"MR! MISS! Are you OK? Were you hurt? Oooh! I-I'll immediately call an ambulance! Does anybody know first aid here?!" – one construction worker immediately ran to their side and began fretting over them.

"Ugh… I may be a bit scraped but I am fine! No need for ambulance for me! What about ya, Sluggy?" – Clemencia looked at him, trying to look nonchalant.

"I am fine." – Slug stated.

"Oh, thank goodness!" – the construction worker sighed in relief.

Slug however was not paying attention to the fretting man. His eyes were drawn to Clemencia, more accurately to her torn sleeve. It must have been snagged on something and now it was showing her upper arm. She never wore anything that was above her elbow but he had thought nothing of it. Why would he care? Now, he saw that her upper arm was covered in scars. Some were smooth likes, like cuts from a knife, some were circular, as if something round and very hot had been pressed there. Clemencia had been hurt, repeatedly and for a long time, seeing how many of them were overlapping.

"…No probs! Me and my friend have to go now, we have some stuff to deliver for White Hat!" – she smiled.

"O-OK. Good luck."

"Thanks! C'mon Sluggy! Let's finish this delivery!"

He stood up and followed after her, sneaking glances at her exposed forearm, the sight reminding him of his own scars…

"OK. Spit it out. Your paper bag is practically screaming that you want to say something." – Clemencia gave him a sideways glance.

"The scars-"

"Ah, these old things? It's nothing special to talk about."

"Why? How- How can you be so cheerful and annoyingly oblivious?! I would have destroyed whomever did something like this to me."

"Well, that's you. I have decided to smile and be nice." Her face dropped the smile and it became somber, surprising the doctor "To be honest, I had almost given up."

Her right hand gripped the torn sleeve and she squeezed.

"I wanted the pain to stop, I wanted it all to end and even…" she shook her head "BUT! White Hat came in and saved me! He was like the firs sunshine I've seen in a LONG time. It felt nice… So, that day I decided to become who I am now! I promised I would never cry and help everyone I can! To always look things on the brighter side and see the good in the world! Now, let's stop talking about gloomy stuff and deliver this package!"

"Yes, yes…" – Slug said without much enthusiasm but followed the hyperactive girl.

The delivery went well and they returned without any other incidents. Clemencia got to watch her cartoons and a lollipop while Slug immediately ran into his lab to check on his project. A new light was shone on the enigma that Clemencia was for the doctor. She still annoyed him though.


	15. Experiment gone sOUTh 1

Dr. Slug was in his private lab, lights slightly dimmed, the smell of chemicals, oil and the bubbling of potentially volatile liquids filled the air. The scene practically screamed Mad Scientist Lad, not literally, of course, that would be scary. For the man, however, it was like a music to his ears. Compared to his old lab, this one was 10 times better – no leaking roof, clean, new technology at his fingertips, no longer needing to steal/bargain/scavenge for material for his personal projects that none of his clients wanted to fund. If it wasn't the fact that he now worked for a goody-two-shoes that wanted to help every damn person on the world, it would have been perfect.

A machine hummed. It was over 3 meters tall and 2 meters wide. It had various cables coming out of it, in the middle was a vial of dark red, almost black liquid, four rays pointed at it, ready to shoot at the press of a simple button.

The man scribbled a few more notes in his journal, turned around and left his lab. Just a few final calibrations to do after dinner and he'd be able to start the machine tomorrow.

'If all goes according to plan, I'd be able to harness that great power! Right from White Hat's own blood!' – Dr. Slug thought.

During the "Care Bear" project White Hat had been mauled by one of the more _unstable_ results and although the man was fine, a LOT of blood had been spilled. Then, Dr. Slug had an idea. White Hat had powers, real powers that could put him on the top of the world, so what if Slug could discover or harness such powers himself? He had gathered over a liter of blood and that vial was all that remained of it. Turns out that if left as is, White Hat's blood starts to fall apart on itself and disappear. After a lot of work, he'd managed to find a way to keep the blood without it disappearing but all that was left was two small vials. One had been spent on testing different theories and the other was not even completely full.

The doctor contained in a cackle. He was CLOSE! It made him excited by simply thinking about the almost miraculous substance. It was like nothing the scientist had seen before. It looked like normal, if not very dark human blood at first but when he looked deeper… He was shocked. He couldn't even wrap his mind around how White Hat could exist – no DNA, no hemoglobin, no red blood cells… If he wasn't interacting with the man on a daily basis and taken the blood himself, he'd though someone had given him a liter of thick cranberry syrup instead of blood.

=== The next day ===

Dr. Slug quickly finished his breakfast, took his coffee mug and left the kitchen in a hurry.

"Grou?" – 606's head tilted to the left.

"I don't know Six'O." Clemencia licked her fingers from the Nutella "He DOES seem a bit chipper today. Maybe something good happened to him?"

"Grrh…" – 606 scowled.

"Oh, don't be like that, acting all emo."

"Hm. It really is a bit unusual." – White Hat finally chimed in.

"I know, right?! Oh, boy! I am SO curious ring now!" – she bounced in her seat.

"Haha! I am glad you are so full of energy." – White Hat took a sip from his cup.

"Grarh!"

"No! I don't need to reduce the number of sweets Six'O! My blood sugar is perfectly fine and without them, I would die." – Clemencia pouted in 606's direction.

"If you are so curious, we can go and see."

"Really?! We can do that White Hat?!"

"Yes, I don't see a problem. We'll go and knock politely and ask him. I don't think he'll mind as long as we don't barge in his lab." – White Hat placed his cup in the dishwasher.

"Grr…" – 606 just turned around and stomped out of the kitchen.

White Hat and Clemencia headed towards the lab. Clemencia skipped ahead of him and of course was the first to arrive. She knocked on the door and pressed the open button without waiting for an answer.

"HEEEY~ Sluggy! What'cha doin'?"

"Clem, dear, you should have waited for permission to -" – White Hat began.

"He's NOT HERE!" – she shouted, poking her head out of the lab and looking at White Hat.

"Really?"

True to her words, the lab was empty.

"He must be in his private lab! LET'S GO!" – she ran ahead.

"Clemencia, wait!" – White Hat followed after her in a light jog, his longer stride helping him not fall behind.

"What?" – she finally stopped just a few steps away from the door leading to Slug's private lab.

"Dr. Slug doesn't like people going in, not to mention barging in his lab. We have to proceed properly."

"C'mon White Hat, you have to live a little more! What is the worst that can happen?" – she put her hands on her hips in a nonchalant way.

_**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH~!**_

=== A bit earlier ===

Dr. Slug stood in front of his machine. He had already re-checked if everything was properly connected and looked thorough his notes. Everything was in check, he was going to start the experiment.

The machine turned on and hummed. Electricity ran thorough the circuits, the four rays started gathering power, a precise aiming mechanism pointed them at the dark liquid in the middle. 3…2…1…now!

The rays shot simultaneously. At first, it looked as if nothing was happening but then the blood of White Hat started to shift and bubble a bit, slowly intensifying with each passing moment.

Dr. Slug pressed another set of buttons and turned up the energy output of the rays. Another part of the machine started to work and slowly an energy gauge started to increase. He smiled under his paper bag for mask. The experiment was proceeding according to plan!

Suddenly the vial with blood started to shake violently, clinking in its stand.

'What's happening? This is not supposed to happen.'

Suddenly the blood expanded and shattered the vial, red lights started to flash, indicating an instability. Instead of dripping to the floor, the blood floated in the air, rippling and twisting in place, slowly expanding. It became oval and flat in shape, almost like-

SHINK!

A twisted, black clawed finger burst through the darkness of the floating blood, scaring the crap out of the doctor. He desperately tried to stop whatever was happening but the machine didn't respond to him, so he could only watch and the finger wiggled and pushed at the rim. Slowly the hole grew and there was a second, then third, then fourth finger… soon two arms were gripping the edges and pushing. Glowing red on sickly yellow, snake-like eyes were looking at him through the slowly forced open hole. A large mouth filled with sharp fangs, pulled into a vicious grimace… The _thing _forced its head through and gave an almost heart-stopping cry.

_**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH~!**_

That was the turning point. It was as if the flood gates were opened after that. It crawled out, more were following it, the doors of his lab opened and in came worried Clemencia and White Hat. The creatures turned towards them and screeched.

"Damn it!" – White Hat cursed, something no one had heard him do since opening White Hat corp.

The creatures flew up, knocking stuff down, breaking the heavy metal blinds and flying off into the distance. White Hat had whipped out his cane from somewhere and swing it at the portal, dark energy swirling around it. The portal, from which another creature had been trying to come through snapped shut with a strange not-sound, leaving only the monster's arm to flop on the floor before it gradually turned to particles of dark and disappeared as if it wasn't there.

The terrified scientist looked at White Hat. The man looked more grayish, if that was possible with his already gray skin tone. He still stood in the pose from a moment ago but slowly lowered his hand, the cane stopping to radiate the dark energy.

If he had looked,he'd have seen just how shocked White Hat had also been by it.


	16. Experiment gone sOUTh 2

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Clemencia pointed with a shaky finger at the spot where the arm once laid "What were those things?!"

"Doctor…" – White Hat looked at him.

"I-I…" he struggled with his words, the shock still holding his body "I don't know…"

A heavy silence followed after that. Dr. Slug was baffled, scared and shocked by what had happened. White Hat just stood there, watching the wrecked lab. Clemencia was looking around, her mouth agape in the pure confusion and lack of words to express what was on her mind.

CLAP!

Dr. Slug and Clemencia both jumped up at the sudden noise. White Hat had clapped his hands to get their attention.

"OK! Listen now." he straightened up, composing himself in a way that could only be a habit "We have to stope those monsters. They had escaped and who knows what they might be doing. The lives of the citizens are a priority."

He looked at them and pointed at the scientist.

"We'll talk about this mess later! I want you to send as much robots out to locate the monsters and assist in evacuation and rescue if needed. There were 4 creatures. We'll go after them and either detain on incapacitate them. Is that clear?!"

"Yes!" "Yessir!"

Every robot in White Hat manor was mobilized, even 606 came out, grumbling and holding a crowbar but still followed the group into town.

Pedestrians were hurrying out of a few burning complexes, a few cars were turned over, people still caught in one, a kid was crying as medics tried to stop his mother's bleeding while they waited for an ambulance… It was chaos and White Hat's face morphed into an angry scowl.

"We have to split to cover as much area as possible. Help anybody you find to evacuate and rescue those in danger – the lives of innocents are more important than stopping those monsters!" White Hat commanded, falling into a quick stride "If you find yourself in trouble, please call for backup and don't do anything too reckless…"

With those last words they split.

….

'Why the hell am I even doing this task so meticulously?!'

Dr. Slug was shocked after half an hour of carefully coordinating robots around the town and searching for people himself among the chaos. He had just realized what he'd been doing and had been diligently following White Hat's orders without any protest.

"Who's there?!" – Slug pointed one of his guns the moment he heard some gravel falling.

"Whoah! Calm down, Sluggy, it's me!"

"Clemencia?! What are you doing here?!"

"Weeeeel~ I was following one of the monsters' traces when I met ya. Have you seen anything strange pass by?"

"No? Are you sure? I would have seen if-"

**SCREEEEEEEE~! GRAAAAH!**

They quickly turned around and were barely fast enough to dodge the two beast swooping down at them.

"Holy-" – Clemencia swung her bat and hit one of the monsters on the head.

The monster screeched as the impact broke off one of its horns.

"Look at what you did! You made them madder!" – Slug aimed and shot with his ray gun.

It didn't do much damage, only scorched the monsters a bit.

'How the heck?! That lump of steel did more damage that my gun? It is supposed to pierce steel!'

"Get a hold of yourself, Sluggy!"

One of the monsters jumped in the air and blew a stream of fire at them. They had to roll out of the way, some of the flames scorching the end of Slug's lab coat. Without them noticing, the other monster had snuck around them.

"Graaah!" – it lunged at Clemencia, its jaws ready to snap around her neck.

"Guh!" – she managed to lift her bat just in time, stopping the monster's maw.

Teeth scraped the metal bat, breath smelling of ammonia and rot hit her face and almost made her gag. Brownish drool dripped from the monster's maw as she tried not to fall backwards and push it back. Deciding it was not worth trying to bite through the metal, it swiped its claws at her. She didn't have enough time to pull back. The creature's claws sliced through her clothes, blood flew at fout deep gashed appeared on her thigh. She was lucky to have leaned back or that would have been her stomach.

"AGH!" – the pain was evident in her voice.

Meanwhile Dr. Slug had been trying to shoot down the second monster but his attempts were unsuccessful. His weapon barely did any damage and the monster was flying too high up to hit him with anything else. It had been spitting fireballs at him and he'd been dodging them well enough, only a few singed spots on his clothes could be seen. The shout of pain startled him.

"Clemencia!" he shouted "Damn it!"

The monster had managed to topple her, her leg bleeding a lot and the bat had been flung to the side. A fireball hit him directly in the back, forcing him take off his burning lab coat. He ran toward the downed girl and hurled the burning garment at the other monster. It shook its head, buying him some time. He lifted Clemencia's bat, a bit surprised at its weight, and swung it with all his strength at its head. It was as if he'd hit a brick wall, the monster in the air had swooped down. Hot, searing pain bloomed on the scientist's back. His black sweater shredded, just like his back. He hit the concrete, CRACK, his goggles broke as his face met the hard surface.

'Is this how I die…?' – he thought, blood streaming down his face, staining whatever remained of his paper bag.

"TRASH!"

"USELESS SHIT!" *Thwack!*

"Why?! Why did I have such a-"

"I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"

"Die, loser! You will never amount to anything and you know it."

'NO! I cannot die! I won't! This won't be the end! I will-'

Dr. Slug's vision was becoming foggy. He struggled but the monster on his back was too heavy. He could only lie helplessly as he watched the other monster advance towards Clemencia and the hot breath of the other closing on his neck.

Shink!

The monster lifting Clemencia up suddenly lost its arm. It screeched as dark blood (the same color as White Hat's) gushed from the stump. Slug's eyes moved to the newly-arrived figure of White Hat. He looked frazzled. Monocle hanging over his shoulder, tie loose, his coat missing, clothes messy and dusty. He was panting, the handle of his cane tightly gripped in his hand and turning out to be the handle of a sword right now.

White Hat had received a ping from Clemencia but she hadn't responded after he tried to call her, so he had hurried to the location from where it came. When he saw the condition in which Clemencia and Dr. Slug were in… he saw _**red**_.

Dark aura swirled around White Hat, billowing his clothes. His teeth were bared (sharp…) and his eyes were slightly glowing, pupils turning into slits. It was the first time the doctor had seen him so utterly furious. The sheer pressure and malice made him feel as if he was dunked into a tub of ice, a pit of dread opening in his being, despite not being the target of it. His vision swam even more and his heart's beats were deafening in his ears. The weight was suddenly lifted from his back as the monsters tried to flee again. Black tendrils shot from White Hat's shadow and wrapped around the fleeing beasts.

"_**You will NOT escape!"**_ – White Hat's voice was distorted and terrifying.

After that… Slug knew no more.

…..

Beep~ Beep~

He awoke to the smell of hospital and beeping of a heart monitor. He blinked his eyes and looked around. There was an IV in his arm but thankfully he was not the one needing a monitor. On the bed on his left was a rasping man hooked to many machines, the noise had been coming from there. Slug noticed a nurse in the other side of the room looking at him, then gasp and run out when she noticed him looking at her.

'Why would she…?' he brought a hand to his face, not feeling his bag, nor goggles 'Of course that is the reason!' – he grumbled.

A knock on the door was followed by White Hat peering in, holding a huge basket filled with fruit.

"I heard you were awake."

"A get well basket, really?" – Slug deadpanned.

"I couldn't bring any of your gadgets because something might happen to Mr. Frent there. He got crushed by a falling debris, you see…"

"I don't care. Did you at least bring a paper bag with you?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"To hide my face of course! It feels disgusting! People always stare and think less of me because of my baby-faced head!"

"I am sorry but the doctor would have to be able to look at your head. You hit it pretty hard on the ground."

"Yeah, yeah."

The smile disappeared from White Hat's face and it made the doctor swallow nervously.

"I was going to ask you later but since you are awake right now…" White Hat placed the basked on the stand next to the bed "What happened back then? How did these… monsters came to be in your lab?"

The scientist them proceeded to tell him what he had done, about the experiment and the incident just before they came to his private lab.

"I see…" White Hat had a somber look on his face "What you did was reckless, dangerous and I am advising you to never try something like this again or we might not be this lucky next time we have to face demons." – he turned to leave the room.

"Sir…" – Slug felt like had was a child again, this time just being scolded and somehow feeling guiltier than ever before.

"Yes?"

"What do you mean by Demons? You obviously knew something, stopping them and-"

"It is best we leave it like this for now, Dr. Snow."

Slug's mouth clamps shut, shiver running down his spine.

"Yes, sir."

White Hat exited the room and went down the hall. He stopped when he saw 606 sitting on a bench in the hall. It had been a surprise when the usually grumpy, lazy bear had beaten the last demon, with the crowbar, by himself.

"606! Why are you here? I thought you were going to wait inside."

"Grouh." – he pointed at himself, White hat, then the door and shook his head.

"So, we cannot enter right now?" – he asked and the bear nodded.

They waited and soon after the nurse came out.

"I changed her bandages. You can go in again."

"Thank you." – White Hat bowed and smiled at her.

She hurried off to somewhere. The two entered the room. Clemencia had lifted the upper half of the bed and was currently smooshing the face of a plush unicorn that had come with White Hat's get well basket, plus a few boxes of candy and a brand new hoodie.

"Oh, Six'O, White Hat!" she waved enthusiastically "You are back! How was Sluggy?"

"He was fine and awake."

"Guu." – 606 put something in her lap, it was a badge that had a puppy on it and said '2 cute, have to boop!' with a heart instead of the dot on the exclamation mark.

"Oooh! This is so sweet."

"Guurururu." – 606 turned around and stomped out of the room, if he was a man, he would be blushing.

She quickly put the badge in the basket and looked at White Hat.

"I have to ask…" she held her breath, squeezing the plushie "… did Sluggy have a really, really handsome face or was that the blood loss?"

"Haha! No, it wasn't." White Hat laughed good-naturedly "He indeed looks like that."

"Oof! It is such a shame though, him hiding it under the paper bag but it is funnier! I don't think any amount of squiggles would make such an ikemen look silly."

They laughed for a while longer.

"I am sorry… for what I did." – White hat said.

"For what? You saved us!"

"I-I lost control back then… I-I could have hurt you or even-"

"NO! No, no, nope! We are not going there!" she waved her arm in front of him "You saved our lives, you saved many more by stopping those things! So don't start being all gloomy."

"Demons…" – he whispered.

"What?"

"Those things were demons."

"And?"

"I… am…" he looked like he was hurting to talk "I am also a demon."

She just stared at him, expression unchanging. Internally, she was glad she was the only other patient in this room.

"How easily I ripped them apart… I-I am scared, to be honest." He looked at his trembling hand "W-what if I lose control again? What if I hurt someone, hurt one of you? I-"

"You won't. I know you." she hugged the unicorn even tighter "You are the nicest, kindest, most compassionate and self-sacrificing person I know! You CAN'T possibly hurt us willingly! I know it, Six'O knows it! Sluggy too, probably… It seems YOU are the only one not seeing it, yet! So, stop underestimating yourself and beating yourself about something like this! You saved me, I really appreciate it, truly… So I am planning to stay and help you with anything! Even if it means hammering it in your head that you are the most awesome hero on this world!"

White Hat looked at her, pointing at him, smiled and laughed. She was not bothered by his sharp teeth at all.


	17. The Briefcase

Hat island, White Hat manor, date: 27.08.2044.

White Hat was doing his morning routine. Washing himself, getting dressed, making sure no extra appendages or set of teeth were coming out of him… The usual stuff. Just as he was straightening his shirt, his phone pinged. Curious, he picked it up and looked who was calling him.

{Amelia Welsh – CIA chief}

He frowned and quickly connected to her. If she was personally trying to contact him, the situation might as well be dire.

"Good morning, miss Welsh. To what do I owe this pleasure so early in the morning?" – White Hat smiled, knowing she wasn't much of a morning person.

[The situation is pretty dire. Our forces are spread thin with the current spike in crime and the mysterious escape of a few villains we are trying to locate, so I need you and your _assistants_ to retrieve something.] on the screen appeared a silver briefcase [I think someone with your expertise it this sort of things would be able to retrieve the briefcase. It has been stolen last night and we need to retrieve it as soon as possible! It was stolen by Dr. Theone, judging by the video footage we managed to recover. We cannot allow it to find its way into the hands of-]

White Hat lifted his hand, stopping her.

"Don't worry. We will retrieve the briefcase! I promise."

[Thank you…] she looked relieved [Ahem! Now, the coordinates…]

…..

Clemencia and Dr. Slug were arguing, again, about what should be on TV, 606 was again shoving food in his mouth, looking miserable.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" White Hat strode in "We have a mission!"

"A mission? What mission? I though we sold products online." – Slug squinted.

"A MISSION?! Gimmie!" – Clemencia did grabby hands at the paper White Hat was holding.

"No, Clemencia. We are all going to this, it was given to me by the president of the CIA chief herself!"

Clemencia oohed, Slug's eyes widened and 606 banged his head on the table.

Bullets whizzed by as White Hat and co ducked behind a wall.

"What the heck?!" – Slug screeched, his laser gun clenched tightly in his hands.

"Chillax, Sluggy." – Clemencia had her bat ready.

"How do I relax?! They are shooting bullets at us!"

"It's nothing special. This is like- every other month for us, right White Hat?"

"It sure is!" – White Hat laughed.

"Are you ready Six'O?" – Clemencia grinned.

"Grrh."

606 had ripped open a panel from the wall. The bear then took a few steps back and threw a water grenade at the exposed wires. Sparks flew and the lights were out. How and when the bear had learned this was a mystery to the scientist.

"Go!" – at White Hat's command they all left their hiding place.

Dealing with the armed guards did not take them too long and it surprised Slug. Clemencia and White Hat had taken out the majority of them, none dead, even 606 had managed to knock the daylights out of at least 6 with his crowbar. The group continued deeper into the base but as they reached a large room, the floor fell beneath their feet and split the group in two.

Dr. Slug rubbed his behind after falling rather hard on the steel floor, beside him White Hat was dusting his outfit. The doctor was not happy but at least he wasn't stuck with Clemencia.

…..

Clemencia and 606 walked down a hall, back to back. They had been split and with a possible trap or enemy attack they had to be close to each other.

A set of large steel doors opened to their left, just a few meters in front of them. She signaled 606 with her hand to keep quiet and follow her to it. She was close to the wall but not leaning to it, in case whomever was responsible decided it would be fun to run electricity along the walls. It is definitely NOT fun!

She peered into the newly-opened space – it was an empty room with no people in sight but then a chair turned around and a small gasp escaped her.

….

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" – Dr. Slug scream-shouted (a combination between a scream of panic and a battle shout) as he shot a magnum from behind a now busted supercomputer.

Drones whizzed by and bombarded them as armed thugs were shooting at them.

"I need a distraction!" White Hat told him "Do you see the scientist there? All others escaped but he didn't. He must be controlling the drones. I need just a moment to go into the enemy's line without being blown by those drones. Can you do it?"

"OF COURSE!" Slug fired two clear shots at the ceiling and brought down a lamp, making the scientist jump away "GO ALREADY!"

Like a ghost, White Hat was already advancing among the enemy. He deflected bullets with his sword and the few that managed to graze him were not a problem – the wounds were gone almost instantly. He used the back of his sword and knocked out thug after thug. The scientist scrambled to aim the drones at White Hat, no longer caring if the unconscious thugs would be injured or not.

BANG!

White Hat grunted in pain as his back was ripped open by an explosion but he grit his teeth and stepped forward, flesh and bone along with some dark tendrils were mending themselves back into shape, closing the wound. White Hat swung his blade and split the drone controller in an instant, the scientist almost peed himself. The drones spiraled out of control and all crashed.

"OK. Where's the briefcase?" – Slug pointed the gun at the scientist, glaring.

White Hat stood to the side as his back came back to its proper shape.

"I-I would never tell!"

"Come on! My hand is getting tired, with all that fighting I did today…" – Slug flexed the finger on the trigger for emphasis.

"OK! OK! I-It's in there! B-but you can't get it either way! The computer that controlled the containment pod and robotic arms is busted! Reinforcements will come before you can get even close to it without dying!"

"Yeh, thanks for the input." – Slug then smacked the scientist with the bud of his gun, knocking the man out along with a tooth.

"What do we do now? I can try to fix the computer or re-purpose one of the machines-"

"No need. I will go and retrieve it. The briefcase is a protective layer, so as long as _it_ is inside, it should be safe." – White Hat had discarded his ruined coat.

"What is the item? If it is so dangerous-"

"You don't need to know." – White Hat was serious and Slug shut his mouth.

…..

"I was so surprised, really! Seeing you here, so grown-up and healthy! It is unfortunate we meet under these circumstances; I would have liked to conduct an experiment or two on you." – the woman on the chair said.

"Professor Clover…" – Clemencia's voice dripped with hate.

"GRRRR!" – 606 didn't know who this was but it must be someone evil since Clemencia hated her so much.

"AW! Don't be so grim, sweetie, and who is your purple friend over there?" – the woman smiled and her smile made them shiver.

Professor Clover was, or at least looked like a kind, middle-aged auntie, blonde locks, a few wrinkles around the eyes, green eyes… well, one eye. The left eye and part of the cheek were replaced by cybernetic ones. Clemencia stared.

"Oh, this?" Clover touched her left cheek "I replaced my old one…" she suddenly stood up, her flesh eye bloodshot "After you little freak crushed it!"

Professor Clover's cybernetic eye changed color and a few trapdoors opened. Mangled abominations consisting of different animals and mechanical components crawled out.

"The fact that you are alive and well intrigues me, so I will not cut shred you… as much." – she tilted her head, one of her hands opened up and a medical saw came out.

"Stay alert, Six'O! Things will get messy!" – Clemencia's grip on her bat was tighter than usual.

…

White Hat had entered the room containing the mysterious item in the briefcase. Dr. Slug was keeping an eye outside the room because he could literally DIE inside it! What was that item? Why was it so important or deadly? He wanted to know so bad!

BOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion shook the place, almost making Slug fall on the floor. Alarms blared and red lights flashed, alerting anybody inside to evacuate.

"Come on! Hurry up and let's get out of here!" Slug banged on the closed door, a few more, smaller, explosions occurred "Come on, boss! We need to leave!"

Just then the doors opened and White Hat's stupid, smiling face peeked out.

"Hey! Did you just call me your boss?"

"NO way in hell! You misheard something." Slug denied "We need to leave asap!"

"Alright. Do you think Clemencia and 606 will be fine? Should I go and look for them?"

"Oh, please!" Slug groaned "Those two can look after themselves. I know they will probably be fine."

….

"YAAAH!" – Clemencia panted.

She was more mentally and emotionally exhausted they physically. The fight with Prof. Clover went as well as the girl had expected. She and 606 had to not only fend off the cybernetically-enhanced professor but she had to put the poor, suffering creations the crazy woman had sent after them.

"Grouh?"

"I'm OK, Six'O…" – Clemencia swallowed the nausea and managed to answer.

"Fascinating…" Clover's voice sounded from above them "You appear to understand that bear despite not having any similar enhancements done to you… Is it some sort of additional development? Oh, I want to cut you up even more!"

"Fat chance! I will take you down!" – Clemencia threw a broken piece of equipment at the professor.

Clover caught it with her metal arm and crushed it.

"Oh, you poor, naïve child…" – Clover smiled and was about to throw the crushed remains back when she suddenly stopped.

Be-beep! – inorganic side of her head made that noise.

"Oh!" she gasped in surprise "It seems our meeting has to be cut short, for now at least." –the woman turned around to leave

"Wait!" – Clemencia shouted, determined to stop the professor.

Clover flicked her right hand and suddenly an explosion shook the whole place. Metal began to fall and a hole opened in the ceiling. Turns out they were in some sort of room that had been hanging above the sea, the door from which they entered connecting it to the island's cliffside. A heli-jet (something between a helicopter and a jet) came and lowered a zip line for the professor, the pilot was a person with a gas mask and a dark purple bodysuit.

"We'll meet once again, C-13F!" Prof. Clover declared as she was pulled up "And next time I'll make sure to open that cute body of yours and see how you tick! Don't worry, I'll make it extra painful! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" – she laughed maniacally as she was pulled on board.

Clemencia and 606 could only watch as neither of them could reach her.

"No… No, no, no!" – Clemencia was so angry, she ripped a pipe from the wall and threw it in the direction of the heli-jet.

The heavy pipe flew for a while before falling with a loud splash in the ocean.

"Grr… Grou uuhn!" – 606 patted her on the back, she flinched at first but relaxed.

"You are right, Six'O. Let's- Let's get out of here."

"Good work, everyone! We not only managed to retrieve the briefcase and return it back to the CIA but also destroy the base, although by accident…" White Hat announced as everybody sat around the kitchen table "I am so proud of you all. I really am. SO! Let's all celebrate this victory! I will be cooking you whatever you want!"

"YAY! White Hat's food is the best!" – Clemencia cheered, a band-aid could be seen covering a scrape on her cheek.

"Cheh! If the food is as posh as you, I want no part in it!" – Slug grumbled.

"Come on Sluggy! White Hat makes divine food, I tell you! Just try it and you'll be in love! It is such a shame you almost never cook…"

"Don't worry! I have made time for this!" White Hat waved his hand "Now, what would you like to eat, milady?" – just as elegant as before, White Hat put on an apron and a chef's hat for the occasion.

"Hmm~ OH! I want your pancake special!" – Clemencia ordered.

"That is dessert, dear." – White Hat looked at her with a small, knowing smile.

"Then… Egg benedict! The way YOU like to make it!"

"Understood!" – White Hat cracked an egg like those pro chefs on TV did, with one hand.

"Grouh!" – 606 lifted his right paw.

"Six'O wants some salmon fillet on pan with herbs and apples!"

"Cheh… can you make a steak with onions or croquettes?" – Slug grumbled from his seat.

"Yes, I can make them both!" – White Hat waved his hand absentmindedly and a few potatoes and a steak floated towards him but he didn't seem to notice.

Soon everybody had their food, Dr. Slug even completely removed his paper bad but glared at the others the whole time it was off, daring them to make a comment about his face.

Overall, the day ended well.


	18. Hopeful Dusk

BOOOOOOOM~!

Explosions and screams echoed throughout the streets of Duskdown. Pedestrians ran as yet another one of the five towers was blown to smithereens by the Solanator.

"Muahahahaha! Pathetic weaklings! Run and hide in your pathetic homes!" – the villain laughed.

He was a tall muscular man, blonde hair and blue eyes dressed in black and gold spandex suit with a yellow cape.

It had been a bit over a month since the Solanator had made his 'debut' in Duskdown and already 3 towers were down, also the intervals between his attacks were getting smaller. The cruel, selfish, egocentric man had destroyed multiple properties in his rampages, robbed banks and stores, terrorized citizens and almost killed 5 officers. The worst were the towers though – these towers, also called the "Five shade towers", were the pride of the city. A symbol of unity, acceptance and sacrifice for the wellbeing of others.

Over 40 years ago… Duskdown didn't even exist. There were a few smallish villages that had started to slowly expand towards each other, bound to merge eventually either way. One night, a spaceship crashed there. Thankfully, there were no casualties due to the crash site being away from buildings. People from each of the villages gathered there to see what had happened. The space ship was mostly intact, its doors slowly opened to reveal… a bunch of people. Well, not exactly – these people wore strange clothes and although they looked like humans, their skin was almost ghostly white and their hair was made of shadow, literally. These extraterrestrials looked lost, sad and confused, not knowing the language, nor where exactly they were.

It was a long and slow process of trial and error but the people warmed up to those strangers from space and welcomed them into their community.

It turned out they had come here by accident, after their ship was hit by the shockwave of their sun exploding and collapsing on itself. Their whole system lost, all due to the carelessness and lawless daring of a single man! They assured the people of the villages their sun won't explode because the man responsible had been left on the planet, locked in a cell to witness what his careless meddling and ego had caused. It may have been immoral to let a man be cooked alive, then frozen and shattered due to the pull of gravity but they were MAD! He had sent their whole civilization to ruin.

In the end, Duskdown was officially found 5 years after the crash, all villages merging into one glorious city. The five towers were built to protect the extraterrestrial residents from the Sun's deadly rays, their skin burning due to how strong it was. These towers emitted special field that blocked most of the sun's rays, not a single citizen was against it, showing their sympathy and acceptance for the then homeless aliens. The central tower is the main emitter while the four other towers act more like a barrier to keep the shade in place and not allow it to scatter and become ineffective.

With only the East and Central towers left, only a bit more than a quarter of Duskdown was covered by the field. The Shade people were suffering many burns, even risking their lives every time they went out, despite all the protection they brought with them in the form of wide-brimmed hats, gloves, umbrellas, long-sleeved clothes and etc. The five officers were hurt by Solanator's power. He seemed to be taking his power from the sun and his blasts of light had burned a lot of people, as mentioned above, almost killed 5 officers that were Shade people.

"Oh, God, what should I do?" – the mayor, Penelope Numan Braxton, or just Ms. Braxton wept in her office.

She had to be strong, to assure her people, hence why she cried in her office all alone. They had trusted her to lead them, they depended on her, but… she found herself in a corner. It pained her to see any of her citizens suffering and it broke her heart but she HAD to look strong, despair was the least-needed thing they had to see in her! She had dealt with many problems during her runs as a mayor. She solved the issue with the energy consumption of the towers, built newer, better facilities for hospitals, made a new park for the children, made a trust fund for the homeless… but now, she found herself powerless. All the attempt to talk to or stop the Solanator were met with failure. With how the villain gloated, she was sure he had chosen Duskdown due to a large portion of its denizens being vulnerable to sunlight.

"I-I *hic* I can't take this anymore… Why… why?" – tears streamed down her face.

She had been in the hospital, visiting the injured officers. The place had been full! People with cuts from broken glass waiting to be cleaned and bandaged, children that had been burned by the sun (maybe for the first time in their life) crying their eyes out after experiencing the terrible pain of your skin cooking under the otherwise beautiful rays, people in casts waiting to go home, the nurses and doctors barely managing all the chaos… it was awful.

She wiped her eyes and looked around her office. The curtains were down, only the computer screen illuminating the room.

Ping~! – the noise came from a pop-up ad.

She was about to close it when she was bombarded by several more, all showing the same logo of a white top hat. Some were playing muted videos, others were showing still pictures… she was a bit overwhelmed.

{Having problems with villains? Fear not because we will chase the despair away! Contact us and we will help with whatever problem you cave!}

Was this it? Was this the sign from God she had begged for? Penelope steeled herself and dialed the number – she had almost nothing more to lose and she would give _anything_ if it meant saving her people.

=== White Hat manor ===

Dr. Slug was doing his morning routine when White Hat's voice sounded through the speakers.

[Dr. Slug, 606, Clemencia. Could you please come to my office? We have a client here. Thank you.]

"Ugh… Here we go again, doing good." – Slug groaned.

The curtains in White Hat's office were drawn, making the place look dim. On the coffee table were a pot of tea and a pot of tea, a few cookies were also but there. Clemencia was munching on them while 606 brooded on a nearby chair. White Hat was talking to a pale woman with a shadowy hair when the doctor arrived.

"Thank you for coming here so quickly." – White Hat began.

"Nu prub bufs!" – Clemencia said (no problem boss) with stuffed cheeks.

"I would like to introduce to you miss Penelope Braxton, she's the mayor of Duskdown."

"Oh, I've heard of it – the perpetually shaded town, right?" – Slug poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes." she said sadly "I called you because a villain has been terrorizing our town for a while now. He's destroying the Shade towers and endangering the people living there! I can't allow this to continue! I asked for help but with the recent upraise of crime and villains…" - she bit her lip.

"SO! You want our help, right?!" – Clemencia exclaimed loudly, bouncing in one place.

"Yes! Can you please help me? I will do whatever you want if it means saving my people from this terror."

"Don't worry. We will help you." White Hat put his hand on her shoulder, assuring her "Now, let's get a contract and review the conditions."

White Hat walked to his desk, opened something on his computer and turned the printer on, only or it to sputter and die.

"Ah. It seems we have bit of a problem here. Dr. Slug, do you mind getting this printed?" – White Hat laughed awkwardly.

"Where exactly? It is Sunday, the shops are closed, remember?" – Slug grimaced, the coffee had sugar put into it beforehand.

"On the other printer? I remember we had another one-"

"It broke after you-know-what thrashed my lab and went into the city."

"Oh- This is awkward…"

"Why can't you just write it?" – Slug asked with annoyance.

"I can't do that. Why don't you three go to Duskdown and see how to fix the problem while we discuss the contract?"

"But-" – Slug began before he was yanked by Clem.

"Let's GO!"

"AAAAH! It is hot!" – Slug screeched after some coffee got spilled on his pants.

"Grrh." – 606 followed them out with a scowl.

Penelope looked worried at the door from which the group exited.

"Now, Ms. Braxton. Let's discuss the conditions of the contract. We HAVE to make it as FAIR to YOU as possible." – White Hat said, his voice a bit strained, fingers twitching a bit, despite him trying to hide it.

She felt a bit nervous and found it odd how he stressed those words.

"OK! Listen now. I have gathered data on the Solanator and have devised a plan to capture and neutralize him as quickly and efficiently as possible!" –Dr. Slug began to drone on.

"Yeah, but why don't we just… I dunno… hit him on the head while he doesn't look? Sounds simple and has worked before." – Clemencia spun in one of the ship's chairs.

"Do you seriously think that'll work?! Those armed thugs may have been one thing but this is a SERIOUS villain, with POWERS! You can't treat him like the random passerby on the- HEY!"

Clemencia had stopped listening to him and was trying to put a few bows on 606 but the bear swiped them off with a grunt.

"Ugh… just, follow my lead."

"Hey! Who made you the leader, Sluggy? I want to be the leader! I saw we drown that guy in glitter!"

"Grour!"

"I have a bad feeling about this." – Slug groaned.

=== In Duskdown ===

"We have to hold him back! If the towers are gone, we'll be done for!" – a cop shouted before shielding a colleague from one of Solanator's blasts.

"Thanks!" – his colleague thanked him quickly.

Not even a week after the previous tower fell, the villain was attacking the East tower, worst was that the mayor had went out to seek help and the police force didn't know how long they could keep him away from the tower.

"Stop right there!" – someone shouted, making all heads turn.

There stood a purple bear, a man with a bag on the head and a girl with unicorn hat.

"Who are you losers? Don't you see I have business here?!" – Solanator leered.

"We were sent here to stop you!" – Clemencia declared, pointing her bat at him.

"Clemencia! This wasn't part of the plan!" – Slug screeched.

606 just groaned and dragged himself to the side, banging his head on the wall.

"YOU are going to stop ME? Hahahaha!" he cracked his knuckles "I would have some fun beating you up." – Solanator flew towards them.

"Why you?!" – Slug shot his laser gun but the shots didn't seem to bother the Solanator much, managing to dodge them all.

"Yah!" – Clemencia swung her bat but he flew up, out of her reach.

She started throwing things at him but he shot beams at them and they exploded.

"I told you to follow the plan!" – Slug shouted.

"The plan was stupid!"

The two bickered, so Solanator took the chance and Blasted Clemencia into a wall.

"Bye, bye nerd!" – with a strong right hook, Slug was sent crashing into a trashcan.

It was terrible. Solanator had gone to destroy the tower and Clemencia didn't know how much longer the police could hold him back, not to mention that 606 had disappeared somewhere while she'd been down.

"Listen… We have to help these people. They need these towers to live normally. So, what do you say we work on a plan, together. I promise to follow it this time, really." – she looked at Slug.

"Fine, but we better make it work. I won't be getting a bonus otherwise." – Slug huffed and it was a miracle that his goggles hadn't broken.

…

They closed on to Solanator, both Slug and Clemencia ready. The villain was gloating above the downed policemen and was about to head to the tower.

"Start plan 2!" – Slug signaled.

"Hey! Ya can't get me, you glorified lightbulb!" – Clemencia jumped out and made funny faces.

"You- I will kill you!" – Solanator charged at her with a solar-charged fist.

Clemencia steadied herself and held her bat to block it. With a clang the fist connected with the bat. Clemencia was bushed back a bit and she could see her bat getting a bit dented. At that moment Slug jumped and pulled a different device out. He had DIYed a weapon from some extra parts and machinery from a destroyed candy store.

"Eat this, sucker!" – black goop (black liquorice and other sticky components) at Solanator's face.

"Gah!" – the sticky mixture hit him straight in the face.

Solanator landed and tried to get the sticky concoction from his face, just to be hit by Clemencia's bat. He was sent flying into a wall, hitting it with a grunt. A few more shots from Slug found the villain stuck to the wall.

"Woohoo! Nice job, Sluggy!"

"Heh, it was nothing. Let's restrain him and finish the job." – the scientist looked pleased with his work.

"Grr… Fucking nerds… I HATE nerds!" – Solanator screamed.

The sticky mass holding Solanator to the wall began to bubble and boil as he began to glow.

"Duck!" – Slug shouted and they took cover.

PAAT!

The heat released from the Solanator was too much for Slug's mixture, so it boiled and splattered all around them.

"This is it!" Solanator walked towards them, face red with anger "This is the last time you-"

From the alley behind Solanator, a bit to the left of where he'd been stuck to the wall, a shadow jumped out. 606 appeared out of nowhere, glomped the Solanator and pressed a rag over his mouth.

"MHH?! Mmmu- hu…" – the Solanator struggled and hit the bear but the soft fur cushioned the blows, after a while he fell unconscious.

"Six'O! It's you!" – Clemencia cheered.

"Where did you go?" – Slug asked the bear, still holding the villain in a tight hold.

"Grouur." – 606 rummaged through his fur and somehow pulled out a small bottle of chloroform.

"How the heck?!" – Slug stared.

"Good job, Six'O! Now, let's shrink this villain!" – she marched confidently towards where their ship was parked.

"I can't believe it! You actually captured him!" – Ms. Braxton looked in awe as a shrunk Solanator thrashed inside a plastic jar.

"Of course we did it! Because we are awesome!" – Clemencia spun around with the jar, Solanator hitting the walls from time to time.

"Why are you here though? We were going to bring him back." – Slug asked, a bit confused.

"Well, after Ms. Braxton finished with the contract and signed it, I decided to drive her back – it is quicker than taking a plane. Also, I tried calling you but you didn't answer, so I was a bit worried." – White Hat scratched his cheek.

"Daww! You are so cute sometimes, boss!" – Clemencia hugged him and you could hear a crack from the force she used.

"I thank you again for this. I owe you a lot." – Penelope took the jar and bowed.

"You don't owe us anything more than what we agreed on-" White Hat winced a bit but shook it off quickly "It was a pleasure working with you."

"No, the pleasure was mine. If you ever need something, you can call me and I'll help with whatever I can. Now, we'll have a VERY long conversation with the mister in here." – Penelope smiled.

Some time later, an online call came to White Hat manor. It was Penelope and she looked a bit different. Her skin had a tad bit more color to it and her 'hair' was more of a dark gray than the pitch black shadow it was; she also wore a T-shirt.

It turns out that after the Solanator was captured, it was discovered that his powers came from absorbing light, hence why he had been getting stronger. She had found that fact curious and decided to study him and his powers. A medicine had been made and said medicine allowed her and others like her walk under the sun without burning to death. It was still imperfect and had to be taken regularly but the scientists were working on a permanent solution. She hoped to one day all of them to be able to bask under the sun and remove the shade that still had to be kept over the city.


End file.
